Northern Trust Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,052,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 958,458 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in MetLife were worth $577,434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MET. CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of MetLife by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 68,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,568,000 after acquiring an additional 9,337 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of MetLife by 109.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,826,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $722,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,606,748 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MetLife by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 13,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 776,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,559,000 after buying an additional 12,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in MetLife during the fourth quarter valued at about $259,000. 94.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MET has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on MetLife from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of MetLife from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MetLife in a report on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of MetLife from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on MetLife from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.46.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock opened at $76.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $52.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.89. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $89.05.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by ($0.05). MetLife had a net margin of 6.19% and a return on equity of 20.42%. On average, analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.5675 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. This is a positive change from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.02%.

MetLife Profile

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.